


The Masks We Wear

by starrnobella



Series: Aim for the Stars [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 31 Days of Fanfiction Challenge, Canon Related, Gen, Strained Friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 10:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12252483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrnobella/pseuds/starrnobella
Summary: Masks allow us to cope with the reality of situations that we aren’t mentally ready to deal with, no matter what that situation may be.





	The Masks We Wear

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xxDustNight88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/gifts).



> A/N: Hey loves! Sorry it has taken me so long for a new update to this collection, but inspiration has finally struck and that’s were this came from! :) 
> 
> This is my second piece for the 31 days of Fanfiction Challenge. The theme for the day was Rare Pairs!
> 
> Looking at a little bit of the strain on Roy and Laurel’s friendship after Sara’s death. I do hope you enjoy!
> 
> Beta love to xxDustNight88! :) It is also based on one of her prompts: Constant Vigilance. Savage. Recharge. “ I didn’t come all this way so you could just avoid me.”
> 
> Title: The Masks We Wear  
> Rating: K  
> Pairing: Roy/Laurel  
> Summary: Masks allow us to cope with the reality of situations that we aren’t mentally ready to deal with, no matter what that situation may be. 
> 
> If you are interested in checking out my other works or keeping up with me in general, I have an author’s page on Facebook that you can check out (starrnobella Fanfiction) as well as a group (starrnobella Fanfiction Friends & Fans) that I am very active in on a daily basis. I’m also on tumblr (starrnobella) that you can follow along with me as well.
> 
> If you enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
> 
> Love always,   
> ~starr

"Constant vigilance,"she mumbled to herself as she looked out over the city from her hiding spot. That was one thing that Oliver always harped on them about when he was training them in the bunker.

" _If you want to be out in the field, then you need to be able to watch your back."_

His words were playing on repeat in the back of her head. She knew that he was only worried about her because it was Oliver. That was just the way that he was. He always wanted the best life for her, and this most certainly was not what he had in mind.

Cracking down on crime as a vigliante was the last thing that Laurel Lance thought that she would be doing at twenty-nine years old. She always thought that by now she'd have settled down with a husband with a child on the way, if not one already running around the house. Oddly enough, she always thought that it would be with Oliver.

However, since he came back from the Island and started donning his mask, their relationship had never been the same. His mask was his way of keeping secrets from the ones he loved most. Although, if she was being honest with herself, that's why she was wearing a mask now too.

She was refusing to come to grips with the fact that Sara was dead. On top of that, she was refusing to telling her father that she had died. Every time her father asked her about the Black Canary, she had to lie to him. She couldn't tell him that Sara was dead. She couldn't even say the words out loud.

In fact, when Roy told her that he had murdered Sara, she couldn't bring herself to speak to him. She just left. She didn't even want to be in the same room as him. She pulled the mask down around her eyes and disappeared into the night.

She was looking for another answer.

There was no way her friend would have killed her sister. Certainly not Roy. He was the kindest person she knew.

A voice over her com pulled her away from the thoughts of Sara.

"Savage is headed your way, Black Canary. Arsenal, can you help her out?" Felicity's voice said.

Laurel sighed and shook her head. "I don't see anything yet," she replied.

"I'm on his tail. I'll be at your position in less than a minute."

There was a pain in Roy's voice that Laurel was sure everyone else could hear. He wasn't coping with Sara's death any better than the rest of them. Although, she was sure that his visions weren't making it any easier on him.

The thud of boots hitting the ground behind her pulled her back to reality once again. Her thoughts needed to quit drifting. There would be time to think about Sara later and mourn her death. They had a bad guy to catch.

"He turned south on Main. He's headed toward Spartan and the Arrow," Roy announced over the coms before turning his off. "Can we talk?"

Taking a deep breath, Laurel reached up and removed her com before turning to face him. She didn't want to do this. Especially not now. Oliver would never let them hear the end of it if they missed their chance to catch Savage.

"We need to cover Oliver," she replied coldly as she moved to walked past him.

As she passed him, he reached out a hand to her arm. The grimace on her face was enough to make him pull his hand away and card it through his hair, pushing the hood down to reveal his face. She could see a pain in his eyes that had settled in the day that he told her the truth.

"I didn't come all this way so you could just avoid me," he huffed.

"No one asked you to," she replied, folding her arms over her chest. "What do you want to talk about?"

She watched as he took a deep breath before removing his mask. There was an ache in her chest that led her to reach up to touch her own mask. The one she wore to honor her sister.

"I want to talk about Sara," he began, "I need you to know that I didn't mean to do it. I don't even know why I would have done it."

"I know," Laurel replied.

"If I could go back…" he mumbled, carding his hand through his hair and looking down at the mask in his hands. "I don't deserve to wear this anymore…"

"Yes you do. You, more than anyone, deserve to wear that mask," she said, reaching up to remove Sara's mask. "I'm the one who is using this mask just to hide. You wear yours to make Star City a safer place."

Roy looked up at her, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. "You deserve to wear your's, too. Sara would have wanted that. I wasn't keeping the city safe when I killed her."

"You weren't yourself. You were still trying to recharge from the mirakuru overdose that Slade hit you with," Laurel replied, running her fingers through her hair. "I shouldn't have been avoiding you. I just wasn't ready to deal with the real reason I was wearing the mask."

"We both have our reasons for the masks.  _All_ of the masks we wear," Roy said with a slight laugh. "We just have to decide which one we are going to wear after tonight."

"The ones that help to keep this city safe," she said with a smile, placing her mask back over her eyes. Roy smiled and followed suit. "Let's catch this jerk."


End file.
